Being a leap year baby has its advantages.
Because your actual birth date only comes around once every four years, you can honestly claim to be a quarter of your real age.
‘I’m only 16,? joked Oxford resident Pat Cochran, who was born Feb. 29, 1944. ‘My husband has a young wife.?
And if you’re a lucky leap year baby, you get to meet Martha Stewart and be interviewed on her syndicated television show.
That’s what happened to Cochran and her daughter, Amanda (Cochran) Richards, a 1990 Oxford High School graduate who now lives in Washington state with her husband and two children.
The mother-daughter team appeared on ‘The Martha Stewart Show? which aired locally on WXYZ Channel 7 at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 29.
Last Tuesday, Stewart taped an entire show about leap year babies in front of a studio audience filled with them.
Cochran and Richards, who are both leap year babies, were originally planning to be audience members, but when Stewart’s producers learned their story, they became part of the show.
You see Cochran’s daughter was born Feb. 29, 1972. So, although she’s 36 years old, in leap years she’s only 9.
As if that wasn’t incredible enough, both ladies were born at the exact same time ? 3:45 a.m. ‘That’s what made it so amazing,? said Cochran, who’s lived in Oxford since 1969.
The odds of a child and parent being born on the same day at the same minute during a leap year are 1 in 527,040 (or a probability of 0.000001897), according to Matt Race, the AP Statistics instructor at OHS.
When they arrived at Stewart’s show, which is taped in New York City, Cochran and Richards were invited backstage where they received the full ‘star treatment,? including professional hairstyling and makeup.
The pair were then interviewed by Stewart.
‘I let Amanda do the talking because I was too nervous,? said Cochran, who noted her daughter is a huge fan of Stewart.
Cochran admitted her daughter said one thing that wasn’t completely accurate.
‘Martha asked us when we celebrate our birthdays when it’s not a leap year,? she said.
‘Amanda said she celebrated on March 1 and I celebrate on Feb. 28.?
‘That’s not really true because I celebrate all week long,? Cochran explained. ‘Birthdays should be celebrated for a week.?
Meeting Stewart and being interviewed on her television show was ‘kind of a neat experience,? according to Cochran.
‘She was very gracious. Kind of quiet, soft-spoken,? she said. ‘Just a very nice lady.?
Cochran noted she and her daughter were ‘the only ones in the whole audience? who were invited to pose for a photo with Stewart.
Cochran can’t wait to see herself on television this time.
When her daughter was born back in 1972, there was a local media circus surrounding the birth because of the ‘same day, same minute? angle.
After her mother-in-law phoned the story into a local radio station, reporters descended on Cochran while she was still in the hospital’s maternity ward.
‘Everybody was calling me,? she said. ‘I didn’t get any sleep for like two days after giving birth. It was very hectic.?
The kicker is because she was still in the hospital, Cochran never saw any of her television interviews.
‘I never got to see my 15 minutes of fame,? she said.
This time she’s prepared.
‘I’m taping this Friday,? Cochran said.
So, what are the chances of having a third generation born on the same day at the exact same time?
‘I told her she’s got to plan her next one,? Cochran said. ‘But that’s in four years. I don’t know if she’ll wait that long to have another one.?
‘I don’t know how you plan that because we definitely didn’t plan that,? she noted.
Cochran’s doctor originally miscalculated her due date by telling her it was March 1, 1972. He was looking at the 1971 calender, which didn’t have the extra day in February.
‘So, I was on time,? she said.